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You are a lily of the valley
symbolic of innocence and purity
regardless of how the breeze makes you sway
it only makes you dance, cause you’re born in May.
©Kym Gordon Moore
To all of our family and friends born in May, let the magic of your flowers bloom in the sunshine and celebrate throughout the day, the month, and the year. Do it with a celebratory passion that jolts jubilation throughout your veins.
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Oh listen to the rhythm of ragtime and blues
swaying to a hypnotic potion of storytelling vibes
from horns, drums, pianos, and guitars to vocals
strumming to a magical brew of jazz musicians and singers.
There’s Ellington, Coltrane, Fitzgerald, and Gillespie
Armstrong, Basie, Morton, and Simone too
it wasn’t merely a sound but a cultural persuasion
improvisations and harmonies on the set of the Jazz Invasion.
©2019 Kym Gordon Moore
April is Jazz Appreciation Month and this music genre is classical and timeless. Originating in the African American communities in New Orleans, jazz is a storyteller, a musical griot. Pull out your favorite jazz album, or grab your favorite instrument and groove to the hypnotic sounds that have a language and style of their own. Jazz is a class act. Do you have a favorite Jazz artist or band?
Poetry originally posted on From Behind the Pen 2019
Image Credit: Peggy_Marco
The leech that does not let go even when it is filled, dies on the dry land. ~African Proverb
The give and take, and take, and take
uncaring about your feelings
I scratch your back, you scratch mine harder
crafty under-the-table dealings.
©Kym Gordon Moore
There will always be people, as alarming as it is, who are interested in more power than justice, in overstuffed bellies than hunger, and in their wealth more than the suffering of those who are poverty-stricken. Such people will find ways to manipulate your money if you don’t watch out.
Nowadays, we find fewer people who give without a reason than those who give if only they get something in return. It seems like everyone is out for themselves…”I got mine and I got yours.” Those with an empathetic heart and a good conscience wonder how people can be so uncaring, selfish, and greedy. We ask how can they go to sleep at night or live with themselves. It appears that sadly such individuals have desensitized themselves and what we think matters to human decency doesn’t to them.
In his book, “Where Do We Go From Here (Chaos or Community),” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr mentions that the powerful never lose opportunities because opportunities remain available to them. The powerless, on the other hand, never experience opportunity because it is always arriving at a later time.
The disparity between the rich and the poor seems to produce a greater divide than we think. It has been this way for centuries and the method to bridging this gap only gets bigger, more sophisticated, more cunning, and more widespread. While this does not vilify all of those who are wealthy, it’s the means of more take and no give which cries out foul play that so many who can do something simply choose to ignore. Don’t sell your soul for the love of money because the consequences are costlier than the money itself.
He who rides the horse of greed will arrive at the destination of shame. ~African Proverb
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Image Created by ©Kym Gordon Moore in 2015 for my original book cover for We Are Poetry, Lessons I Didn’t Learn in a Textbook, but later changed for publication to the current version of the book.
Like ‘Beauty and the Beast,’ ‘Poetry and the Brain‘ waltz to melodies that are as individualistic, emotional, and timely as the moment presents. Then, do we poets have the rite of passage, to write what we feel is right from our hearts? Yep, you betch ya!
Poetry surrounds us each day. It touches our souls in greeting cards, song lyrics, and television jingles. While articulating our feelings, thoughts, and ideas, poetry motivates and inspires us. It not only gives us insight into ourselves and others, but it strengthens our communication skills through sentence structure, figurative language, vocabulary, and analysis skills. We ruminate about details throughout poetic verses that connect us with an emotion we probably experienced before, or perhaps a new emotion that took us by surprise.
What triggers how we respond to poetry when we read it, recite it, or hear it recited by others? It’s the “feeling,” be it abstract or not, that we get when we look at art, listen to music, create a craft, read a book, watch a theatrical performance, or watch a movie. There is a “reading network” of brain areas that is activated in response to any written material. But it has also been found that more emotionally charged writing aroused several regions in the brain.
Studies have shown that both sides of the brain are affected by poetry. If poetry is filled with emotion it is believed that it will affect the ride side of the brain (creativity). If the work is deemed more literary, then the left side of the brain will react (analytical). The beauty of it is that lovers of poetry can enjoy creative prose and still utilize both sides of their brains.
There are a few people I know who are avid readers of different genres, who write reviews about the books they read but have shared with me that they just don’t get poetry. These are highly intelligent people I’m talking about. I explain to them in layman’s terms that I am a lover of diverse music, from R&B, Jazz, Pop, Country, and Easy Listening, to movie scores. But I confess that every genre of music I don’t get because it does not connect with my emotional pleasures and seems to annoy me. But those who do get it are avid music lovers of those musical categories I cannot connect to. And that’s okay.
Researchers are using new brain imaging technology to bridge the gap between art and science by mapping different ways in which the brain responds to poetry and prose. Poetry touches the heart and teaches the poet and their audience emotional expressions occurring from everyday lessons. The soul of poetry will elevate one’s thoughts and imagination through the veins of poetic form. How does reading, reciting, writing, or listening to poetry caress your brainwaves?
Image Credit: Kym Gordon Moore
“We are simply a constellation of bodies swirling in a giant golden teacup of human magic.” -Kym Gordon Moore from the chapter, Poetry, Tea, and Me – We Are Poetry: Lessons I Didn’t Learn in a Textbook
Poetry and tea are like peas and carrots. They go together so effortlessly. Is there a special brew of tea that you enjoy sipping on as you indulge in your favorite collection of poetry? I delight in an assortment of flavored teas, depending on the collection of poetry I am reading. But generally speaking, I enjoy a regular old cup of oolong tea with honey and a shot of lemon juice. How about you?
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As precious as a diamond
You are born to lead
So shine your light of love
April children, plant your love seeds.
©Kym Gordon Moore
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What inspires me to write the things I write and share the things that I share? There isn’t one particular thing, but a culmination of many facets occurring each day throughout life. For one, outside of other social media platforms, this WP community I am happy to be a part of showcases how we can communicate effectively as adults even if we are different racially, by gender, politically, economically, demographically, or scholastically.
Civility, empathy, understanding, love, peace, patience, and compassion are components we see heavily compromised and gradually deteriorating these days and times in society. We see evidence of polarization, complicity, and complacency that seem to overshadow the heart of humanity. And it does to an extent.
If I lose my ability to see, I become blind
If I lose my ability to hear, I become deaf
If I lose my ability to touch, I become numb
If I lose my ability to be peaceful, I self-destruct in chaos
If I lose my ability to understand, I become knotted in confusion
If I lose my ability to love, I am lost in the ethos of hate.
©Kym Gordon Moore
Today my friends, as I ruminate about this awesome gift of life we have been given this very moment, why waste it on frivolous and trivial things that don’t add value to your life, to the lives of others, and living? Sometimes the very things we are looking for we already possess. We just need to mobilize them in ways that have laid dormant for a while. Yes, the world seems like it’s crazy, but it’s not the world that’s crazy, it’s the people who live in it who are.
We are not accountable for the crazy things that other people do, but it’s what we do that will make a difference. Crazy is just making more noise, we have to counteract that noise with more good and productive noise of our own. It is refreshing and comforting to see the type of camaraderie we share, where civility and compassion are poetic ingredients in our human connection. Thank you! 🙏🏼
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Do we build bridges or walls? I suppose it depends on your planned end result. Human connection works as a bridge, bringing together people built on pillars of education, compassion, understanding, and strength. Disconnection is like demolishing a bridge that can destroy such unity or make people retreat.
When I heard about the huge cargo ship that struck Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge last week, I, along with so many people watched in horror as that bridge which became an artery that this city relied on for nearly 50 years, folded into the Patapsco River like popsicle sticks. An unthinkable tragedy occurred within a few seconds, that took 5 years to build.
The wise build bridges, not walls. There is a cascade of disconnection when we turn our heads and backs to people who may look different from us, but are souls who can unify, uplift, support, and empower. Where there is intentional disconnection and rejection it can be terrifying, toxic, tragic, destructive, and quite polarizing.
BRIDGE BUILDERS
Unsung heroes who diligently build bridges
visions of growth, cultural development,
and spiritual excellence
connections that guide us on an exodus
from chains of separation and bondage
knowing such structures built by warriors
strengthen our understanding of ourselves
introducing us to a new land of emancipation
where others we never met,
join us on future expeditions, exploring the unknown
as new conversations of understanding
are exchanged about where we come from
who others are
and the direction where we are headed
those bridge builders erecting structures
support mechanisms to take us further
as we embark on the new, the learned, the untapped
and pass the torch of wise lessons
to light the pathway before us, and lead those who follow.
©Kym Gordon Moore
Simon & Garfunkel in 1970, released the song, Bridge Over Troubled Water. There was something quite solemn yet so painfully spiritual when I first heard this song. It made me think about how we reach out to people in their time of need, and to be of service when people are suffering. We see such evidence when bridges have been compromised in times of disaster, especially when people are displaced and feel afraid of the unknown.
So even though the Francis Scott Key Bridge came down when it was compromised by the collision that the cargo ship created, people are coming together to build this bridge back. The hole gaping over the Patapsco River is a void that leaves us bewildered but also mobilizes the human spirit. It is mindboggling how one bridge affects the lives of thousands of people and their livelihoods. Yet, such a disaster makes us focus on the immediate future, to devise a plan to build back better and build back in unity. There is no measuring in what we think, but in what we do, together. Be the pathway to build bridges that unite, and not walls that lead to devastating polarization.
Image Credit: ADStorey
Photo image used with permission from the author
I have been investigating the use of neurocognitive methods on the grounds of whether they are structurally and functionally valid in the world of poetry. So today, I have the pleasure of sharing my interview with Anna Ehrenman, a current senior at the University of Virginia and author of the book, “The Almond of my Mind” (The Poetry of Neuroscience and Love).
Anna’s book is a compilation of neuroscience and the poetry of love. Her book isn’t a textbook, but it is the integration of understanding neuroscience and poetry. Anna is a STEM student, and it is evident how passionate she is about biomedical research and scientific literacy.
As I read her debut book of poetry, there were so many of her poems that resonated with me about how each region of the brain serves a different role in controlling thought, touch, motor skills, vision breathing, memory, and every process that regulates our body. Anna also explains how the amygdala (ah-MIG-dah-la) relates to the title of her book.
I invite you to listen in to this informative conversation about the research designed to help bridge the gap between art and science, and the way the brain responds to poetry and prose. You can contact Anna via her website, annaehrenman.substack.com, purchase her book on Blurb.com, Amazon.com, or Barnes & Noble, and you can connect to her on Instagram, Goodreads, and LinkedIn.
Click here to visit, follow the podcast, and engage with any of the previously recorded Poetry, Pastries, & Pies episodes.
With Gratitude,
Kym Gordon Moore, MBA Author, Poet, Podcaster
If you are unable to listen to this episode, “Poet Anna Ehrenman Discusses Neuroscience and Poetry” on the podcast banner above, try connecting to this Triple P Spotify channel by clicking on the following link: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/kym-gordon-moore/episodes/Poet-Anna-Ehrenman-Discusses-Neuroscience-and-Poetry-e2hle4d
Image Credit: Dawn Pisturino
After grabbing my copy of Dawn Pisturino’s debut poetry collection, Ariel’s Song, which is dedicated to her daughter Ariel Therese Pisturino, you are drawn into the loving and tender emotions of the rumination her heart emits. Our WordPress community knows Dawn as a gracious writer and contributor to this platform and so many others. Her book contains numerous poems published in anthologies and other literary outlets such as Hidden in Childhood: A Poetry Anthology, Wounds I Healed: The Poetry of Strong Women, and the 2023 Arizona Literary Magazine.
For me, Dawn’s personal experiences and creative lightheartedness began with her limerick, “The Cannibal and His Dog.” What irony!
A cannibal walking his dog
Got hungry and sat on a log.
“I’ll start with the spleen.
This dog is too lean.
I shouldn’t have taught him to jog.”
Her poem “Rapping” brought chills up and down my spine. It makes you think about those moments when you imagine or believe you heard a strange sound, saw an apparition, or even heard faint whispers of a familiar voice from a loved one that brings comfort, like that of her father. I think we can relate to still feeling our loved ones’ presence long after they are gone. Another poem, “When the Morning Comes” resonates with me regarding how different things look in a new light. Seeing things in a new light unfolds into new angles of vision and awareness that we didn’t see or feel before.
Dawn Pisturino is a retired nurse in Arizona with a Bachelor of Science degree in Natural Health, whose international publishing credits include poems, short stories, and articles. While many of us are connected to Dawn on this platform, you can also connect to Dawn on her other social media channels on Instagram, Goodreads, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Medium, Reddit, Pinterest, and Tumbler. Click on any of the images to find her book on Amazon.com, and add to your collection of poetry.
Congratulations Dawn! Here’s to more good things to come!
From Behind the Pen 